The Beat Generation er navnet på den amerikanske 1950’er-kunstnergeneration, hvis mest fremtrædende medlemmer var Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac og William S. Burroughs; det var Jack Kerouac, der i 1945 fandt på betegnelsen "Beat Generation". Oprindeligt betød betegnelsen ikke andet end generationen, der var "slem", "ødelagt" eller "udbrændt", og henviste således til følgerne af 2. verdenskrig. Unge amerikanere kunne ikke finde sig til rette efter krigen og kunne ikke identificere sig med det amerikanske system. De følte sig udnyttede af erhvervslivet og politikerne, og konsekvensen var, at de nærede mistillid til stort set alt indenfor mainstream-kulturen. "Beat" kom således også til at betyde at være oprigtig, at have sluppet al forstillelse. Endnu en betydning af "beat" var "beatific" d.v.s. hellig eller salig, og buddhismen var deres foretrukne religion.

Beat-generationen var grundlæggende anarkistisk, og de afviste de traditionelle sociale og kunstneriske normer, idet de forsøgte at udtrykke sig så forskelligartet og intenst som muligt. Inden for litteraturen benyttede de sig f.eks. af rytmen i dagligdags amerikansk talesprog og i musikgenrer som f.eks. bob og progressive jazz.  

The Beat Generation was the American generation of artists in the 1950s, whose most prominent members were Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs; it was Jack Kerouac who in 1945 came up with the name "Beat Generation". Originally the name meant nothing more than the generation that was "bad", "ruined" or "worn out" and thus referred to the aftereffects of World War 2. Young Americans could not find their footing after the war and could not identify with the American system. They felt themselves exploited by big business and the politicians, and the consequence was that they mistrusted almost anything within mainstream culture. In this way "beat" also took on the meaning of being sincere, of having left all pretence behind. Yet another meaning of "beat" was "beatific", and Buddhism was their preferred religion.

The Beat Generation was basically anarchistic and they rejected traditional social and artistic norms while trying to express themselves as diversely and intensely as possible. In literature they used e.g. the rhythm of everyday spoken language and of musical genres such as bob and progessive jazz.



Foto/Photo: Claus B. Storgaard, Flemming Dreesen: Jack Kerouac i Holmstrup

Allen Ginsberg

Jack Kerouac


Beat Generation Resources Page